


loving you is a losing game

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:35:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22259560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: prince arthur of england grew up without a mother and with a father, the king, who lost his ability to truly love something personally, other than the country he ruled over.so when arthur sneaks out of the palace after a stressful day of being followed by body guards and constantly being babysat, he finds his way to a small park with a few benches and snow falling.he never expected to meet someone there who would treat him like a normal person, or even be kind to him as a normal person.but he wasn’t a normal person and neither of them could have realised what path laid ahead for the two of them.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 46





	1. independency and snow

**Author's Note:**

> guess who’s fucken back again w another fic that she probably won’t finish?  
> tHis girl!!1!  
> anyway, i’ve had this idea for a while and i actually kind of like it so i might eventually actually finish it?  
> also i have no idea what happens with the royals even though i’m literally and english citizen who LIVES in london but anywho  
> enjoy pls  
> thank you for clicking

it had been a shock when the queen of england had died. ygraine pendragon had been loved by the whole country and many more. she wasn’t old either. she had died during childbirth in which she brought a son to england’s royalty. a direct heir. 

ygraine had been a fair and kind woman. she often visited shelters and orphanages, anywhere where she could help and would convince her husband, uther, to help them as they were all in dire need. the king had been so loving with her. but now most of his love was simply publicised. it didn’t really exist after he lost one of the main and direct causes of such happiness, love and care to bloom in his chest and devour his entire being. he felt blank slightly, but would never admit. because he’s the king, of course.

his name was arthur. the whole of england had cooed about him for the first few months and then it fanned out to those who were completely invested with the royals life. 

many people had doted over his blonde hair, from his mother, and his sharp blue eyes. they were like an ocean and as he grew up, they had simply grew even more blue. which actually turned uther to pushing arthur away, because he looked too much like his late mother.

at the age of four, arthur made his first proper appearance when he was on the way to school. his nanny had been holding his hand and he was giggling and waving at the people who were taking pictures of him. he hadn’t understood it at the time but he was a child enjoying something different and the press had jumped all over that.

but twenty years after the death of ygraine, the prince was now grown into a young adult, learning real responsibilities. and that was stressful, truth be told.

he was next in line to take the throne and he was scared, to be truthful. he had grown up as a boy without any parental love. his father too overwhelmed with hatred due to the passing of his wife and how it felt to lose someone. england had mourned with him and some still did. but the majority of the pity went to arthur, who had to grow up without a mother. 

now, at the age of twenty, he was much different to the child that england had seen before. his hair was still as blond and his eyes were still as blue as they had been since the day of his birth. but he had many different qualities now. he often had slight bags underneath his eyes, which darkened the whole look of his face. he also usually had droopy eyes if he hadn’t slept enough or was too stressed, which tended to happen a lot. and if the press looked close enough, maybe they’d just notice the small red marks around his fingers. but that story is for another time. not now, anyway.

but he was soon to take the crown and that was obviously stressful for him. his day had started out even more stressful, somehow. 

those considered servants, arthur never really liked that though so he just called them by their names anyway, were always so good in the mornings. and one of them, who usually helped arthur, had come to wake him up.

arthur had been sleeping in his bed, enjoying his good nights sleep due to the fact that he hadn’t had one recently, when they had woken him up. it wasn’t fun, to say the least. he had whined and groaned about ten times before forcing himself out of bed and nodding at the servant who had woken him. once he had, the servant left the room so arthur could get changed, making the prince sigh as he looked around his room. it was bare.

that was already a negative start to his day, as were all of his days. he hated the bare sight of his bedroom. he wished he could spruce it up slightly, add some special things. 

the rest of the day was simply difficult. he had to do some paperwork for his father as his father had grown too tired for it at this point and then was informed he had to make a public appearance in about two hours, which stressed him out massively. he hated public appearances. not because he hated those who would record or take pictures but because it meant leaving the house and seeing people ambush him with such ridiculous questions and sore topics, like his mother.

so he had finished his fathers paperwork and then began to get dressed for the appearance, looking at his clothing with a puzzling look. he decided to go for a look that was considered to be casual for him. 

he picked a tight-fitting red polo and a pair of black trousers, tucking the polo into his jeans. he then grabbed a simple black jacket and an umbrella. because truthfully? london’s weather was appalling. especially this time of year when the snow began to fall. you’d assume it would fall around december but it actually fell around march most of the time.

and it was march now. the beginning of march anyway. 

he sighed and tucked the umbrella underneath his arm and then made his way, noting the way that two bodyguards followed him almost immediately and he nearly groaned out loud. but he knew that would be impolite to those who were protecting him so he simply resorted to groaning inwardly. 

he made his way out of the palace, looking around whilst he stuffed a hand into his trouser pockets, eyes wandering across as he noticed a few gaping looks and the oncoming rush of those with cameras, wanting to catch up on him. if they wanted a public appearance for him, he was sure he could give a small few answers, even if they were to stupid questions. 

so he took one more deep breath and turned to the oncoming rush. there were about fifteen, not the worst he’s dealt with but not the best either. he sighed inwardly and then put on what he called his politics smile, one he used for interviews and such. he also added a small wave.

“prince arthur!” somebody yelled out, shoving the camera close to his face, “is there anybody in your life right now? a future queen?” 

arthur scoffed a little at that and then instantly regretted it. it wasn’t that evident anyway so he supposed it didn’t matter, “i have no one in my life right now, and a future king or queen to rule with me would be nice.” he said, once again dropping hints to the press who refused to listen.

with that simple question, arthur could feel the two bodyguards moving in and sighed once again. he then quickly waved to the people with the cameras and walked over to the two bodyguards who, surprisingly, he was actually friends with.

“seriously, guys?” he asked. 

it was seven at night, on a thursday, and he just wanted to do something. not be followed by anyone or any body guards. he had been so stressed recently and needed to unwind.

elyan raised an eyebrow, “arthur, you have to be safe. now come on, let’s go back.”

arthur nodded a bit and then smiled a bit at percival, another friend of his who was also a body guard. the three of them got on quite well and that worked for arthur. so they began to make their way back, arthur saying he didn’t want a car to take them back. 

once they had gotten back, arthur smiled at the two of them and rushed directly to his room. he was sick and tired of being followed and it stressed him out even more. not to mention he had to write up new drafts for speeches that he would have to do now that he was twenty that were piling up constantly. he was beyond stressed and needed an escape. 

and as he looked out the window, he saw snow beginning to fall and grinned slightly to himself. he looked around his room once more before rushing to his wardrobe and tugging a jacket out. it had a puffy and warm material on it with a bit of fur at the hood. faux, obviously, but it was soft and kept him warm so he liked it. and he was definitely willing to leave the palace right now, especially now that it had been snowing. arthur had always loved snow, ever since he was a young child. 

he then slowly opened his door, peeking around before tiptoeing down the corridor. he knew that everybody would know he was gone within ten minutes due to such close security, but he just needed even the slightest bit out of there to relax. 

once he made his way to the back of the palace, he typed in a twelve digit code that he had memorised which opened the small back gate. arthur, being the very slightly paranoid royal he was, double checked that no one saw him before quickly rushing off in the direction of a park that he had walked past many times but had never actually went into, which was unfortunate because he could see that it was actually quite beautiful looking. 

once he reached the park, it was nearly nine, which surprised him. but he assumed it was because of the time he didn’t realise he had spent whilst contemplating whether to actually do this or not, which also meant that elyan and percival would most likely be there to find him soon enough. but arthur didn’t care at this point, he just wrapped his coat around himself further and followed the path full of snow as he walked through the park and once he reached a small bench, he decided to sit on it. 

he hadn’t even noticed someone sitting on a bench just a bit away, trembling slightly as they held a laptop in their hands. he was too busy checking his watch, wondering when elyan and percival would show up and take him back to a lecture from his father. even so, he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed how that someone was looking down at their laptop with a stressed look until they snapped it shut and huffed, ruffling their hair underneath the hood they were wearing.

that caught arthur’s attention and he looked up, tilting his head slightly. and hey, he had always been one to strike up conversation, having to be good at socialising as a royal. and perhaps this person wouldn’t recognise him.

“..stressed out?” arthur asked, pushing his fists together slightly from being a bit nervous about asking. 

the person, who arthur could now see was a man, showed visible confusion on his face before looking up, seeing arthur sitting across from him on another bench. he sighed a bit and nodded.

“you have no idea.”

yes i do, arthur thought. but he didn’t say that. of course he didn’t say that.

“uhhh.. university?” the prince had asked, happy that he hadn’t been recognised yet.

the man snorted, “you sound like an old man. you can just say uni.” 

arthur tilted his head a little bit but he nodded anyway, hesitating a bit before forcing his political smile out, looking at him, as if to say ‘you’re right, that’s funny’ 

“oh man,” the man said, “you really aren’t having a good day. that fake of a smile?” 

arthur was beyond taken back by that. no one had ever taken note of the fact that his smile was beyond fake and he never thought anybody would, forget about a stranger he met not even five minutes ago. it was a bit strange but somewhat endearing and arthur couldn’t help the slight quipped lip he felt on his face. 

“..i’m arthur, by the way.” 

the man snorted once again, “i already knew that, i’m not completely oblivious. but if it’s any consolidation, my name is merlin.” 

arthur tilted his head slightly. merlin had known he was prince arthur of england? and still acted completely normal around him? that was a strange and unheard of thing and he honestly found it weird. but once again, it felt somewhat endearing. 

“merlin..” arthur spoke, as if testing the name and how it felt on his tongue. it felt kind of nice yet odd at the same time. his whole family consisted of basic english names and he was pretty sure merlin was some sort of welsh name, so he liked it a lot. it was actually very nice. 

merlin looked up properly for the first time and arthur was only a little bit blown away. it was no secret that he had been dropping hints at the press for so long that he was a bisexual man, but seeing a man like merlin was shocking for him. he felt like he had been winded and punched in the face at the exact same time.

he couldn’t deny how attractive his cheekbones were, protruding out of his face as he looked up. or even the way that his slightly red lips were larger than most men’s and he was probably made fun of for that but arthur actually found them rather interesting to look at. even the way that his ears were a bit big for his head but seemed to suit him perfectly. everything about him was so well put together and looked so nice, arthur couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward. 

“well, princey, it was great meeting you,” merlin said, pausing as he stood up and tucked his umbrella underneath his arm, “but i’m sure you have somewhere to be and my mum will lose her mind if she realises i’ve gone further than the local shop for a coffee to keep me awake for my assignment. especially if she realises i’m sitting in the freezing cold snow without a coat or hat, she’s odd like that.” 

arthur couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the way merlin completely blabbered on but he liked it, nonetheless. once merlin had finished, arthur noticed a car pulling up by the front gates and instantly knew it was most likely elyan and percival.

“here,” arthur said, as he removed his warm jacket, extending his arm to merlin as he held in his hand, not smiling but not frowning either, “i think that’s a ride coming to get me and it might be fun to get yelled at for the possibility of catching a cold.” 

merlin looked up at arthur, the two of them now standing. he realised how much taller the prince actually was than he had assumed and tilted his head slightly, as if to ask ‘really?’ 

arthur nodded, looking at him, “take it, seriously. and quickly, before elyan and percival get annoyed for me giving it away.” 

merlin hesitated slightly before shaking his head, smiling anyway, “i couldn’t take that, that’s yours.” 

arthur scoffed playfully and stepped closer to merlin, once again, not smiling or frowning, and gently draped the coat over his shoulders, looking at him with an unreadable expression that he had been taught to hold since a child. 

“i hope to see you again soon, merlin.” arthur spoke, almost softly, as merlin nodded slightly and smiled, clutching the laptop close to him. 

“you too.” 

with that, arthur walked off, heading towards two very annoyed bodyguards, looking at arthur with a raised eyebrow.

“arthur, you’re the prince of england. you can’t just run off when you want.” 

arthur sighed and nodded, looking between the two of them with a slightly upset sigh, not that either of them would even realise that he was upset at all. because, apparently, the only one who could do that was someone who he had met recently and it was only done under five minutes.

so he sighed again. 

“i know.” 

and those words held more truth and weight than the two bodyguards had known. perhaps it was a simple phrase to them. but to arthur it was so much more.

it was acceptance of the stress he felt all the time and it wasn’t helpful whatsoever. he couldn’t help but feel stressed even at simply accepting to himself that he was stressed and it annoyed him beyond his wits.

—

merlin had gotten home with a brand new, fancy looking coat around his shoulders and a smile on his face. which, let’s be honest, would confuse any mother after their son went out at half eight and came back at nine without what they said they were going to get.

“so, did you get the coffee, merlin? or just a new coat?” 

hearing his mother’s words, merlin looked down at the coat across his shoulders and mentally cursed himself out first and then arthur. 

“uhh.. new coat?” he said, in a questioning tone even though he was the one giving the answer. but by the look on hunith’s face, he could tell that it wasn’t enough for her and continued, “i met someone on my way whilst it started snowing and he leant me his coat because he had a ride home.” he explained, quickly. not necessarily lying, just withholding the truth. but hunith nodded anyway.

“make sure to return it. it looks like a nice coat and they’ll need it around this time of year.”

merlin nodded and smiled. “i’m gonna go finish my project.” 

“you need to stop leaving these last minute, merlin, seriously.”

“hey! at least it’s not the morning of the day it’s due, i’ve definitely improved.”

hunith chuckled softly at that and nodded, smiling, as merlin went up to his took to continue his project. but once he sat down, he clicked off of his word document and onto google, typing in a sole name with no clear intent at all.

arthur pendragon.


	2. philanthropy and warm coats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> merlin begins to wonder when he’ll actually see arthur again and arthur has plans on a way to meet his new friend instead of sneaking out and running off, with the help of philanthropy, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is really dodgy i’m sorry  
> please enjoy this  
> also i’m going to be talking about the british school system in this fic a lot so if you ever get confused, just ask! :)

merlin really hadn't meant to go snooping, but seeing arthur's face over his laptop, labelled as the prince and completely nobility after having just met him? holding his coat in his hands? it felt unreal and almost weird. his stomach was churning and he felt so odd, looking at the coat that was now hung up on the back of his door. 

he didn't even know when he would see arthur again. forget when, if he would see arthur again. it was crazy, honestly, to think that the next king had given him his coat to stay warm. but then again, hunith had raised merlin to believe that all people were equal, even if it had been somewhat surprising to him. but arthur was a human and so was merlin, so there wasn't much difference there.

merlin sighed and yawned quietly, realising that he hadn't finished his project. it didn't really matter though anyway. his mother's uncle, gaius, was his professor and he really wouldn't mind if merlin was a bit late to hand it in. he always had a bit of a soft spot for merlin and it wasn't a surprise when merlin could get away with a few things rather easily, truth be told. so majority of the time, he just left it until he definitely had to do it or didn't have anything more important. and hey, meeting the actual prince of england had to be way more important than a project on the history of the world war two and how it began. 

he didn't really feel like doing that anyway, not now. he just looked across his room and looked at the coat, sighing a little bit. he'd have to try and get it back to arthur somehow and he had absolutely no idea how to do so, which stressed him out a lot. he definitely couldn't just keep it. he was the bloody prince of england and would be able to find merlin within five minutes.

but merlin just sighed and went to bed for the next morning, looking over at the coat as his eyes fluttered shut and he yawned quietly. and then he was asleep. sleep having been something he needed at that point.

the next morning, merlin woke up to his ringtone blaring and huffed, grabbing his phone. when he saw that gwaine was calling, he rubbed his eyes sleepily and answered, putting it on loudspeaker.

"merlin? where are you, you absolute egg. i've been waiting outside for ten minutes and i'm always late anyway!" he exclaimed.

at the sound of that, merlin gasped and checked the time. 

"shit- shit, i'm sorry, gwaine! i'll be there soon, just give me five minutes!" he almost yelled with surprise, worried that he was late.

he hadn't even realised that he had thrown arthur's jacket on over his blue shirt, he was just rushing. once he shoved his laptop into his bag and made sure that he had his keys too. he then grabbed a breakfast bar from the counter that hunith always left out for him and rushed outside, quickly jumping into the passenger seat of gwaine's car. when gwaine looked over at him, he snorted.

"did you suddenly get minted over night or what?" gwaine laughed, looking at the coat with a raised eyebrow.

"huh," merlin said, quickly, looking down to realise he was wearing arthur's jacket and instantly cursed himself out mentally, "ohh, just a gift from someone!" he lied, quickly, smiling at his friend.

gwaine didn't believe it for a second and simply rose his eyebrow once more but he just shrugged it off and nodded, beginning to drive to their uni. merlin just sat quietly and leant back. he didn't like lying to his friends and he didn't exactly feel like lying to gwaine who had been a good friend ever since he showed up late on his first day of uni and couldn't find gaius' lecture room. 

"i can't exactly tell you everything but i met someone last night.. i guess they're kind of rich? i don't know, it's weird to think about. they gave me this so i wouldn't have to walk home completely freezing." 

gwaine snorted again.

"you do know they're taking pictures around the university today? as in you'll be in the pictures with this person's coat?" 

merlin shrugged slightly, fiddling with the sleeves of arthur's coat. they were too big for him, seeing as arthur clearly had muscle, and he felt beyond scrawny in it, even though it did keep him warm, just like arthur had said it would when he lent it to him the night before. so he just curled up underneath it and took note of the way it smelt. absolutely pristine. which was weird. 

"they don't care enough to look at a website and realise it's a coat. plus i probably won't see them again so.." he shrugged, sighing softly a little. gwaine could tell he was upset about it and decided not to push any further, continuing to drive. 

"excited to see lance?" gwaine asked, using the nickname for their friend that he didn't like all that much.

"you're so rude, gwaine," merlin laughed, smiling slightly, "you know he likes being called his actual name."

gwaine rolled his eyes but smiled anyway and merlin found himself fitting into his usual routine. nothing had changed after a chance meeting with a prince for about five minutes. he was still merlin ambrosius at university and he loved that life. nothing would ruin it.

nothing, right? 

—

"seriously, arthur. your father needs you to do something publicly. the public basically adores you, may as well do something to gain more of their love." 

arthur groaned and picked his pillow up, launching it at percival's head, grunting from tiredness before he cuddled into his luscious quilts again. which caused percival to cross his arms and look right at him, even if he couldn't see him, until he spoke. arthur just huffed.

"i'll do some public work with some kids, that usually works well enough for my father to be pleased and it's nice to see them all." 

percival raised an eyebrow, "that's the problem, arthur. the press seems to think it's just for publicity from how many times you do it. you'll have to change it to something different." 

at those words, arthur huffed and threw back against his headboard, looking at the ceiling of his room with an exasperated look spreading across his face. he actually liked spending time with the children because they always seemed so cheerful and happy when they got to see him so it was upsetting to hear he couldn't do that.

"well, i'll still go see them. i'll just have to do something else, i guess."

percival nodded and then left arthur, who looked around his room as he scratched the back of his neck, huffing. he began to wonder whether last night was done sort of dream or not but then he took note of the fact that his coat was not where he would always leave it and he smiled a little to himself about it. so he had actually made a new friend. which was pretty nice, to be honest.

once he got up, he slipped out of his sleepwear and tugged a simple shirt on with a jumper over it, putting a pair of trousers on. when he looked in his mirror he swept his hair up slightly and smiled a little. but then he stopped almost as quickly as he had smiled, and tried his politics smile, calming down a little bit once he had it down again. he then ruffled his hand through his hair a bit, noticing how it was curling a bit at the tips, a sign to wash it, and huffed to himself. he'd do that later. he had stuff to attend to anyway. 

it was already midday and he had done just about absolutely nothing and he knew that his father wouldn't like that at all. so he rushed out and to the room where they held meetings of public sightings and publications of social meetings. in simple term, it was where they decided arthur would go and be photographed and filmed. it was pretty boring but he didn't care all that much, he just did as they said no matter what, it was the way he had grown up to listen. 

so when they suggested that he simply went for a walk as an appearance and could decide what to do then, he couldn't help but nod his head quickly and smile. it was the way he had been taught to do it anyway and hey, he didn't mind walks at all. especially not when percival and elyan would be a while behind him and a few cameras following him. that wasn't too bad, to be totally honest. so he had agreed almost too quickly, once again, with his politics smile and decided he had dressed okay enough to go out like so.

and then everyone began to organise where he would go, what paths he would walk. he was told he'd pass the park he had met merlin at the night before and walk right through it and in front of a university that was sitting behind it. 

arthur hadn't made the connection that it was most likely merlin's university. which it was. so he agreed, again.

by the time his mind could have even been clear enough to even think about it being merlin's university, he was already half way through the park, strolling through with his hands in his pockets, waving and stopping with people who wanted to take pictures. he continued walking until he saw the university and took note of the fact that there were quite a few people walking in and leaving. 

his eye caught someone specific though.

he could find that mop of brown hair anywhere, mainly because of the ears protruding out of the side of them. and then, with a smirk, arthur waved quickly to elyan and percival, to let them know he was okay and smirked to himself once again before jogging over slowly, noticing that merlin seemed to be walking with a friend.

he also seemed to notice that merlin was wearing his coat. also, that many girls were gasping and watching him as he jogged up to merlin, a few beginning to whisper. that caused merlin to look at his friend who seemed confused, until he heard a voice call out.

"is that my jacket?" arthur asked, smirking once again to himself as he stopped in front of merlin and his friend.

suddenly, his friend had a smug look on his face and shoved merlin's arm. arthur held back a smile at the fact that his friend hadn't overreacted either.

"yeah, it is, sorry." merlin said, quickly.

"so, the minted friend is a prince, merlin? really? you took a coat from a prince!" his friend snorted, trying his best not to double over with complete laughter. 

arthur looked between the two and noticed the way that merlin was quickly removing his jacket, readying to hand it back to him.

"wait, no, merlin, it's okay," he said, ignoring the smug look from his friend, "keep it, it looks nice on you. and i have to go anyway, elyan and percy will be annoyed if i've rushed off too much." 

merlin instantly looked over at his friend and then up at arthur, his eyes hopeful slightly, "i can keep it?" he asked.

arthur nodded. "just tell me where i can meet you tonight so you give me something of yours. it's only fair considering i'm a prince and all."

his friend snorted with laughter again and then went quiet, looking behind arthur. soon enough, merlin did the same and arthur realised elyan and percival were most likely standing behind him. he turned to face them with an awkward look.

"right, whats this then?" percival asked, looking at arthur with merlin and his friend.

"this is my friend merlin. and his friend."

"..gwaine." gwaine said, quickly, stretching his hand out to shake percival's and merlin had to stifle a laughter. gwaine was most definitely having a pan panic. a PANic, if you may. 

percival tilted his head a bit but hesitantly shook his hand, making sure not to hurt it.

"not to interrupt.." elyan paused, attempting to think of the right word, "whatever is happening here, but prince arthur is about to be mobbed by about thirty university girls." 

merlin thought it was weird to hear him he called prince arthur but he shrugged it off, holding arthur's coat in his arms at this point. 

"okay, we better go." percival said, quickly, pulling his hand away from gwaine's, smiling at him with a wide and friendly smile that completely contradicted his muscular exterior, "it was nice meeting you two." 

the two of them nodded, as if to say 'you too' and smiled a little bit, watching the way arthur began to walk off with them. but then merlin realised he hadn't answered arthur's question.

"prince arthur!" he called out, using the term 'prince' in case his bodyguards took it as disrespect against him, "food bank, the trussel trust one, i'll be there tonight!" 

arthur simply tipped his head and waved a little bit. an unspoken confirmation that merlin would see him later, which was quite nice.

—

merlin and gwaine were currently walking home together, arthur's coat around merlin once again. it was actually quite nice because most of merlin's and his mother's money went towards his university fees and he couldn't indulge in such warmth, he usually had to layer up. but he found himself digging his face into the soft faux fur, smiling at the warmth it brought to him as he walked through the snow.

"look at you, cosying up to a bloody prince."

"hey, why don't you come to the food bank too so you can gawk at percival some more." 

gwaine gasped exaggeratedly and placed a hand over his heart, causing merlin to elicit a snort, rolling his eyes playfully.

"but seriously, merls, be careful, y'know? even if you're just friends with him, it can get dangerous. it's not a game."

"yeah, yeah, i get it. i'm absolutely shit at video games." 

gwaine laughed and patted merlin on his back as they got to merlin's house, smiling at him with the casual friendly smile he upheld when with merlin, he took note of how comfortable merlin looked too and thought it was sweet that his friend was so comfortable and warm.

"have fun at the food bank and if your royal ass shows up, make sure to be safe."

merlin rolled his eyes, nodded and gave gwaine a hug. their usual goodbye. he waved him off with a little smile and gwaine watched to make sure he got in the house before he began walking.

when merlin was safely inside, gwaine left and merlin hopped down onto his couch, yawning quietly as he looked around. he only had one class today and it was an averagely early one, so he wasn't busy and had gotten home much earlier than hunith usually did, with her two jobs. 

merlin was working on a part time job, or trying to find one, but between two university courses and volunteering for the food bank, he actually didn't have much time, so he tried his best to help his mum in any way. that meant tidying the house. 

as he checked his phone, he saw that he had four hours until the food bank started and gently took arthur's coat off, placing it on a chair so it wouldn't get dirty, and he then grabbed a disinfectant spray and began to clean. it was his usual routine.

either go to school, come home and clean and then volunteer or the same, but replace volunteering with projects and homework. 

he was lucky gaius wasn't angry that he didn't finish his project, otherwise he would've been majorly stressed, but it was okay because it was gaius and gaius was always kind and fair. he also took into consideration the way that they were living at the moment. 

—

once arthur got back to the palace, he made his way to the meeting room where he saw those officials still sitting there, opening their mouths to ask how his walk had been and if it was successful. the blonde prince had nodded quickly and smiled at them, his politics smile, of course, and then sat down and looked over at them.

"i've decided what i want to do for the charitable publicity." 

they all echoed the same responses of 'what is it?' and 'what have you decided, prince arthur?'

arthur grinned slightly as he looked at the eight people sitting in the chairs, all smiling brightly at him with the same sort of politics smile he often used. it actually kind of annoyed him that all their smiles were fake. but anything for work, he assumed.

pulling his best fake smile, arthur announced it loudly and proudly, still smiling falsely, but they wouldn't notice.

"i'm going to start volunteering at a food bank. the trussel trust food bank."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there’s the second chapter, lads  
> thanks for reading, it means a lot  
> if you left kudos or some comments it would be really appreciated  
> follow me on instagram for merlin edits  
> @ambrosius.mp4 :))


	3. friendship and food banks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> arthur decides to make way to the trussel trust food bank where he gets to see merlin in action, socialising with everybody. not to mention the fact that he gets along with those who are there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i haven’t posted in a while and i’m sorry agh, i’ve been procrastinating, i won’t lie. i hope you enjoy this chapter and if there are any grammar problems or anything, feel free to pull me up on them!

it was quarter to six now and merlin knew that he had to make it to the food bank quickly. it was a ten minute walk but he still had to fix his hair and put his hoodie on, pulling it on as fast as he could.

he was wearing a pair of skinny jeans that will had given him because they were too small for him and were a perfect fit for merlin. he actually really liked them. he also had a blue hoodie on and then decided to just slide arthur's coat on over it, smiling at how warm he felt already, not to mention how comfortable he was either.

once he was completely ready and dressed, he grabbed the bag that was full of differently labelled tins that had all been approved for the food bank and smiled excitedly, putting the backpack on as he wrote a quick note, as he did every time he went to volunteer and his mother was at work. he had mad sure that he left a ready made meal in the microwave for her to make when she got home and also left the tv on so that it would be playing her favourite show. 

once merlin had sorted all of that, he tucked his phone into the pocket of arthur's coat, arms wrapped around himself to keep warm whilst he walked, smiling to himself as he watched the snow on the pavement whilst walking. he wasn't actually sure if he'd genuinely see arthur. he doubted he would. it was probably a cruel joke his supposed new friend had played on him. he was royalty, after all. and what was merlin? a boy who couldn't even help his mother to support the two of them. to be fair, it actually made him feel very useless. but he knew he was doing uni courses so he could support the two of them soon enough and that made him feel slightly better.

so hey, he understood that the prince wouldn't want to be his friend and just sighed, shrugging it off slightly. arthur would probably be disgusted in him when he found out that he liked men anyway. he guessed that royals weren't particularly supportive, due to things like bigotry, heirs and all that absolute bollocks. 

once he got to the food bank, he smiled and waved at the regulars there who would always volunteer. he hadn't even taken the time to notice that they seemed rather tense and on edge, even though they smiled and waved back. 

he tilted his head slightly at that. mainly because everyone who volunteered there were always in great moods and cheerful. but merlin just shrugged it off and pushed his hair away from his face, the curls still drooping over his eyes. when he got to the little table he usually worked at, which was warm drinks, he instantly started up the little machine that the government had funded for and started putting some coffee granules in a hot chocolate powder too. 

he then put the milk into it's compartment of the small machine and held all the cups close, smiling a little bit to himself. 

volunteering at the food bank always made him so happy because one time in his life, when his mother didn't even have a job and he wasn't at school, he had to come to this food bank. so, having such fond memories of it, merlin had always wanted to volunteer here and it made his world that he actually got to. especially with all the kind people that volunteered too. there's even an old woman here, her name is alice, who volunteered when merlin was younger and she was so joyful to see him back and much better, which made his whole heart melt. 

about ten minutes after six, a few people came walking in and merlin smiled softly to himself, smiling widely as the people made way through the tables, getting cutlery first and then their plates and then their food. then they either went to merlin for warm drinks or to nimueh for cold drinks. most people liked going to merlin because nimueh wasn't very talkative and could seem a bit standoffish sometimes, even if she was the one who actually chose to volunteer. to be totally honest, her volunteering there was probably and most likely just to look good on applications for any jobs she wanted. she never really put her heart into the volunteering. 

when the first person came over to merlin and smiled at him, his eyes brightened slightly and he got excited. he hadn't seen olwyn in a while and it was amazing to see her again.

"olwyn! hot chocolate again?" he asked, smiling as she nodded and he began to make it for her, still smiling, "how's eoin doing? is he going to sixth form or college?" he asked, looking at her. he was quite talkative and cheerful, which was why he was a favourite at the food bank. 

"probably sixth form, love." she smiled, looking merlin up and down, "you look lovely and cosy, new coat? you didn't have it last week." 

merlin chuckled softly and nodded, "new coat, yeah, a friend gave it to me. same for the jeans. oh, and this bracelet," he paused to hold out his wrist, showing a thread bracelet wrapped around his wrist, "you remember gwaine, right?" 

olwyn elicited a soft laughter and smiled at merlin, nodding her head, "of course i do, that boy knows how to charm anybody." 

merlin laughed in agreement and put the lid on the cup of hot chocolate, handing it to olwyn after he had put in the exact amount of milk that she enjoyed in it. he always liked to remember what everybody liked, especially seeing as he was friends with nearly everyone at the food bank.

"thank you, merlin. do come sit with me when you're done, yeah?" 

merlin nodded and waved as she walked off, smiling friendlily when the next few people began coming over. what he hadn't noticed though, was the blonde man who was now standing in front of him after about six people. 

as he looked up, smiling widely with his usual smile to greet those who were there to get a drink, his eyes widened and his mouth formed an 'o' shape. 

with an almost loud whisper, merlin whisper-exclaimed, suddenly, "prince arthur? what are you doing here?" 

arthur rolled his eyes playfully, "it's arthur to you, elyan and percival aren't here. and i was wondering if i could help you out here?" he asked, smiling almost pleadingly.

merlin peaked past the prince to see how many people were left. about twenty, he'd say. give or take. so he just nodded and quickly pulled arthur behind the desk. 

"don't worry about hiding your face or anything, it's kind of a family in here. other than the she-devil, but we're all close. no one will do anything that'll make you uncomfortable." merlin explained, stopping as another person stepped up to the table. he made no effort to explain who the she-devil was, which left arthur a bit confused but he just shrugged it off anyway.

arthur didn't know what to expect when merlin was talking to somebody, but seeing him be all polite and kind was actually rather refreshing. he was much more lively than most people in the palace or the royal family and it was fun to be around, being something new. it was then that's he definitely decided that it was a fact that he liked having merlin as his friend. 

"eoin!" he exclaimed, smiling widely as he started making a hit chocolate almost immediately. arthur found it kinda cool that merlin knew who came and remembered what they liked to have. "your mum sat down about fifteen minutes ago," he explained, smiling as he continued with making the hot chocolate for him, "how's school going?" 

eoin shrugged, "not great. i did kind of good in my gcses, worst i got was a 5." 

"hey," merlin said, speaking softly and arthur was actually surprised to hear that, "that's really good. basically, you got one c and the rest b and a, did you get any 8s?" 

eoin smiled a bit and nodded, "an 8 in english language." 

"there you go!" merlin exclaimed, smiling at him like a proud older brother, "here's your hot chocolate, i'll come over to you and your mum in a bit, right?" 

eoin nodded, thanked him and walked off, leaving merlin to turn to arthur with a smile on his face.

"you're really good at talking to people." arthur had said, that being the main thing on his mind at the moment. it was if he had forgotten he had a filter and just said it before he could even think of stopping himself.

merlin chuckled softly, "it's easy to talk to family.." merlin trailed off as he looked between arthur and then the machine, smiling a little, "you see the little girl by the food table? she's next up and she really likes hot chocolate with marshmallows. your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to make her one." he grinned, pulling a small packet of mini marshmallows out and throwing them onto the table in front of him.

"did you just mimic the throwing of armoured gloves to challenge me for a duel?" arthur asked, eyebrow raised with a quirked lip, still holding his smile back.

merlin nodded quickly and grinned at him, looking up at the blonde with an expectant look. and really, looking at his new friend now, arthur couldn't say no. not when he seemed so excited about it anyway. it would've just been very impolite.

when the young girl approached, she instantly smiled at merlin. she didn't even take note of the way that arthur grinned a little at merlin and picked the marshmallows up. 

"merlin!" she giggled out, smiling happy. when she noticed merlin had a friend standing besides him, she tilted her head and giggled a bit again, "you dress fancy!" she exclaimed, smiling innocently.

arthur smiled a little and nodded, "mhm, so do you. you look like a princess." 

merlin's heart melted at the way her eyes widened with happiness, a smile dancing across her lips as she giggled out once more, clutching her plate of food close to her chest whilst it was on the tray. she looked so cute and he thought it was sweet that arthur was good with her. not a lot of his friends are good with kids. especially not gwaine, who would give knives to all the kids he met if he was actually allowed to. 

"thank you!" she smiled, "can i have my hot chocolate please?" 

arthur and merlin both nodded at the same time and merlin tried his best to stifle his laughter, watching arthur completely fail at trying to turn the small machine on to the hot chocolate setting.

merlin, who decided that arthur still needed to do it by himself, grabbed arthur's hand and pushed it to the button for hot chocolate. because of that, arthur nodded at him slightly, as if to say thank you, and pressed the button so the hot chocolate began pouring out into the cup. the young girl watched with an excited and happy smile on her face still. 

when the hot chocolate had filled the cup, arthur poured a bit of milk into it and then he very carefully dropped the marshmallows on the top. merlin peeked over and nodded his head in approval before arthur handed it to her, watching the way she held it close, putting it on the tray with her food.

"thank you!" she exclaimed, smiling and waving a tiny bit as she walked off to a table where her mother was sitting. 

—

after they had finished up with everybody's drinks, merlin rolled his hoodie sleeves up and turned to arthur, lifting his hand up for a high five. the prince, who probably had about six high fives in his twenty years of life hesitated before giving him one, causing merlin to chuckle.

"well done, by the way." merlin said, quickly, "new people who come here usually find it difficult to keep up with all the kids and the chat." 

"eh, it was fine, i liked it." arthur admitted, shrugging with another quirked lip, still holding his smile back. merlin took note of the fact he always tried not to smile but didn't make anything of it. it wasn't his place to pry anyway. they were barely even friends at this point. 

"right, well, do you want to come talk to olwyn and eoin with me?" the smaller of the two asked, looking up at arthur with the same smile that often graced his lips when he was in a good mood.

arthur hesitated, "are you sure?"

merlin just nodded and smiled, grabbing arthur's coat that he had given him and took it with him as he began to walk. arthur chuckled a little bit and followed after him, tucking his hands into his bottoms as he reached the table with merlin. he'd be lying if he said he wasn't the smallest bit nervous. 

"oh, merlin! come, come. sit down!" she exclaimed, quickly and happily, smiling as merlin stood there.

"is it alright if my friend here sits with us?" merlin asked, a bit anxious to see how olwyn would respond. he knew for sure that olwyn would recognise arthur but she was a kind person, he didn't think she'd do anything.

as she looked up at arthur, her eyes widened from shock, opening her mouth to speak but a bunch of jumbled words escaped, almost as if she was much too shaken to speak.

eoin laughed a bit, "she means yeah." he said, smiling at merlin as he sat down and motioned for arthur to sit down. 

the prince hesitated before he sat down, feeling as though he may be interrupting but when he saw merlin look all excited, he knew he would keep him involved in any conversation, which was a nice thing about his friend.

"it's- it's an honour to meet you, prince arthur." olwyn stuttered out, quickly reaching her hand out to shake his hand, smiling nervously.

arthur chuckled slightly and took her hand, shaking it in response, "pleasure is all mine. and you can call me arthur if you'd like, no formalities are needed here." 

merlin smiled softly, watching the way that arthur's confidence sky rocketed, talking to olwyn and eoin about their lives whilst merlin sat and dipped in a bottle of water that he kept in his bag, occasionally dropping in a few words to the conversation.

"so, arthur," eoin began, looking at him, "how did you do in school?"

"eoin!" merlin exclaimed, laughing as he nudged him in the side, "you don't just ask that!" 

arthur rolled his eyes playfully but began to speak anyway, "to be honest, i wasn't the best with school. but my father got me one of the best tutors in england and it really helped." 

eoin nodded slightly, listening intently with an interest as pure as the colour of merlin's eyes. olwyn was smiling whilst he spoke and merlin was resting his chin in his palm, watching the three with a happy smile. arthur was already fitting in. 

after a while more of talking, eoin yawned and stretched out slightly.

"we better get going, eoin has school tomorrow and i've got to get to work early." 

merlin nodded and smiled softly at her, standing up as her and eoin did so. arthur stood up too, once again, holding his normal smile back. which, yet again, merlin took note of but didn't bring up because it still wasn't his place to pry.

olwyn leant in for a hug and merlin pulled her into his arms, smiling as he squeezed her gently. he then did the same with eoin, who acted like he didn't like the hug but it was obvious that he liked it. then when they turned to say goodbye to arthur, olwyn hesitantly reached a hand out to shake his hand but arthur rolled his eyes playfully and gently pulled her into a hug. which, yes, elicited a bit of a surprised gasp from her but she didn't mind as she hugged him back. the two then let go and he gave eoin a pat on the back, unsure whether he actually liked hugs or just merlin's hugs.

"we'll see you two next tuesday." merlin said, waving as the two waved back and left the small building.

once they had gone, merlin turned to arthur and smiled beyond ecstatically, in such a way that arthur wasn't even sure that he had seen before.

"that was so good! eoin thinks you're awesome! you actually got eoin to like you! god, he's so stubborn but such a sweetheart when you get to know him, you're definitely coming next week!" 

arthur laughed slightly and nodded, looking over at merlin with a bit of an odd look. somewhere between a neutral face and a very very slight smile.

"need help packing up?" he asked, looking at the boy with slightly large ears.

merlin nodded and the two began to pack the machine up and fold the tables and lean them against the wall. arthur couldn't deny the good feeling he felt in his chest whilst helping out and it made him feel warm and actually kind of happy.

once they had finished, merlin had announced that he needed to go and got a rush of hugs from many people. arthur was actually shocked by the amount of people that jumped up and hugged him goodbye. the only hug goodbye that arthur got was from the small girl that he had called a princess but he actually didn't mind. it made it all the more special to him. 

then the two of them were walking out of the building, merlin holding the coat in his hands as arthur walked along, hands tucked into his pockets.

"are you walking home?" arthur asked, looking at merlin whilst he nodded, "right, well.." he began, trailing off as he began to move.

he gently pulled the coat from merlin's arms and walked behind him, holding it up so merlin could slip his arms into it. it was so cold out that merlin didn't even notice the heat rushing to his cheeks, all he noticed was the way that arthur helped him put the coat on. when he was done helping him, he looked him up and down and nodded just before raising a hand, gently ruffling his hair to make it look messier.

"that's better."

merlin shook his head slightly but smiled anyway, holding some laughed in, simply looking at arthur in his usual way. "thanks?" 

arthur chuckled softly and then noticed how a car pulled up, realising it was most likely elyan and percival waiting for him and sighed a little. he wouldn't have minded spending a bit more time with his friend, but duty calls, he had thought.

"i'll see you later?" merlin asked, with an almost hopeful tone in his voice and expression on his face.

arthur nodded, "if not before next week, i'll see you at the next food bank."

merlin nodded and smiled a little bit. he would've hugged arthur but he wasn't sure how he'd react so he just smiled even more and waved a little bit.

that got a nod of the head and a small wave as a reaction from arthur. merlin watched as he got to the car and waited until he got in to begin walking.

and once he got home, he saw his mother asleep on the couch with her ready meal at the small coffee table. he chuckled softly and grabbed a blanket, gently putting it on her, making sure not to wake her. once he was done, he leant down and gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

and then?

then he went to bed. 

and slept like a log.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading, please leave kudos or a comment as it’s greatly appreciated. follow me on instagram @ambrosius.mp4 for merlin edits! :)


	4. dishonesty and sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> merlin tries to hide the fact that he received his jacket from a prince when his friend, lance, asks and arthur can’t help but lie to his visiting sister and her significant other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it’s been over a month, whoops  
> anyway, i’m currently writing the sixth chapter and i’m probably going to be writing quite a bit as i’m currently self isolating due to the possibility of having the coronavirus (woo!)  
> i hope you enjoy the chapter!

merlin was sat at home, early wednesday morning. his mum had left for work about half an hour ago and he didn't have to go into school until one so he decided to just relax. he had already cleaned around the house and made sure it was all clean so the only thing left to do was sit down and relax.

he even resorted to pulling his phone out, looking arthur's name up for the second time this week. he saw a lot of different news websites gushing about how kind he was to help out a food bank and he thought that was pretty cool. at least he was getting recognised for doing something good. but, whilst reading one of the articles, merlin suddenly cursed out loud. 

"oh, shit!" he exclaimed, remembering the conversation between him and the prince where arthur had said for merlin to bring something to give him. sure, he was most likely joking but he didn't want the bloody prince to think he was ill mannered and rude. 

he huffed quietly, to himself and flopped back against his couch. he had no idea what he could even think of getting him and how it probably wouldn't be until the next tuesday. at least he had a while to think anyway. he had no idea what he could even give a prince. a bloody prince. 

first of all, arthur had given him a really expensive jacket. merlin couldn't afford anything like that, even if he saved up his whole entire lifetime. 

as he tried his best to think, his mind wandered to the english lecture he had later and then an idea struck his mind. he could write arthur something. merlin often played some instruments from his secondary school, they had a bunch of instruments and they were the only instruments he ever really got hold of but he had learned quick and had a way with words. maybe that could be it. 

or even a small poem. 

no way, merlin had thought. he couldn't. he would have to do something else. maybe he could give him some sort of notebook, something that he wouldn't usually have. merlin just sighed and decided to text his groupchat with gwaine and lancelot.

merlin:  
what time are you guys going in today? i have a class with gaius at one 

lancelot:  
merlin, i'm IN that class with you

gwaine:   
i'm in already, had a class at 9 and i hate everything and myself 

merlin:  
did you even sleep last night or were you too busy drooling over percival

lancelot:  
who's percival?

gwaine:   
bodyguard to merlin's new boyfriend

lancelot:  
sorry what? merlin has a boyfriend that requires a body guard 

merlin:  
he's not my boyfriend, idiot. and lance, it's just a new friend anyway

gwaine:  
you know it's not a game you want to be playing, merlin, seriously 

lancelot:  
i'm not catching up right now because i have to get ready but merlin? you better get ready to explain all of this to me in class

merlin groaned and threw himself back against his couch again, looking up at the ceiling with an annoyed look on his face. gwaine had just baited him out to lancelot. he honestly didn't even mind the fact that lancelot knew, it just meant he'd have to explain it all over again and he was simply too lazy for that. 

once merlin had gotten up and dressed, wearing his normal jeans from will and a simple hoodie. looking over at arthur's coat, he decided it was probably best to just leave it at home. he didn't really want it to get ruined at uni or for anyone to give him looks after the run in with arthur. most people would be able to make the connection that it was his and then there would be some idiot who would riot and tell tabloids. that was not good for merlin. thank god that it hadn't happened. so he just thought to leave it there.

because, what most people don't tend to know, the british tabloids are harsh when it comes to the royals and merlin had seen the way they'd picked people apart before, royal or not, and now that he was actually friends with arthur, he felt bad for him.

but he had to put those thoughts to the side as he grabbed his usual coat, a cheap rain jacket that hadn't cost more than £20 and took his keys and then bag, which was filled with his textbooks and notebooks, not to mention his laptop sitting at the back of it. he simply grinned at his textbooks, making sure they weren't bent or anything and then he was off, leaving the house with a bounce in his step.

making his way to his uni, he was watching the world pass by as he did so too, looking around. he actually smiled kindly at a few people when passing them.

because merlin was simply a kind person.

—

arthur, once again, was not having a good morning. he had woken up whilst rolling over in his bed plenty of times, trying to get comfortable but he just couldn't and let out a loud groan of frustration because all he wanted was some damn sleep.

to be fair, he did need to wake up. his older sister morgana was visiting. she had left when she fell for a woman and the tabloids nearly tore her apart for it. he hadn't seen her in a while and missed her dearly so it was excitable to think that she'd be back today.

so instead of trying to fall asleep again, as he usually would've done, arthur jumped up from his bed and stretched out, smiling a little to himself. he'd allow himself that much anyway. once he was done with his smiling, he stripped of his sleepwear and put a simple pair of trousers on, tucking a plain white polo shirt into it. he knew morgana would take the mick out of him for 'looking ever so poncy' in her fake posh accent but it always made him laugh so he likes to dress for it.

morgana had always been different. she always tried her best to adhere to what uther had told her to, making sure that she appeared correctly to the public but once he had shunned her for falling in love with a woman, morgana had had it with him and she decided to leave. which was also another reason why arthur enjoyed dropping hints about his bisexuality instead of straight out saying it. he couldn't have his father react negatively. especially when people's view on him mattered so deeply as the king of england.

once he was dressed, he rushed out towards the courtyard where morgana was to be arriving in the next five minutes. he could already see all of the cameras standing, watching. the beefeaters standing there. 

arthur held back an excited smile as he saw a black car beginning to pull up and quickly began to wave at a few cameras before straightening up to wait for morgana. he grinned slightly as the gates began to open and the car drove in. it then drove over towards arthur and stopped in front of him, the door opening with a dramatic swing. 

arthur had to stifle a laugh at how dramatic it was.

"arthur!" morgana exclaimed, quickly jumping out of the car with a smile on her face, "my my, you look very dashing, young man." she grinned, forcing her fake posh accent as the two of them laughed.

he pulled her into a hug.

"did you bring gwen? elyan has been missing her quite a bit, i think." arthur asked quickly, smiling at his sister in a shielded way, almost as if he were still holding it back. 

morgana smirked just as one of the other doors swung open and gwen stepped out, turning to face arthur with a smile, waving at him in the same way she always did, cheerful and excited. it was sweet, he had thought, that morgana found somebody who was just as kind and compassionate as she was.

"ah, gwen! it's great to see you!" he exclaimed, looking over at her as she quickly walked around the car, standing besides morgana. arthur then pulled her into a friendly hug and she giggled a bit, having been so sweet.

"it's good to see you too, arthur." she said, pulling away from the hug to take hold of morgana's hand, as if she were nervous. which, to be fair, she was.

"come on, we better get inside. father is too busy to bother us today and we don't need any paparazzi." 

morgana and gwen nodded, smiling at the blonde prince as he stepped forwards, leading them inside. he fought back a smile at the way he heard smiles in the two girls' voices as they reminisced over the palace and time that they had spent in there before morgana and gwen both decided to leave together. 

sure, it had been difficult for arthur, seeing his sister just get up and go like that but he knew that she had a valid reason. although, not all things were so negative, seeing as elyan was also going through the same thing so it was nice to have somebody to relate to and to talk to about their problems. especially someone who both of them knew wouldn't say anything to anybody.

"so, arthur," morgana began, in her teasing tone, as they reached a room that they could all sit on large sofas and relax on, "anybody in your life?" 

arthur scoffed a bit and sat down on one of the sofas, leaning back with a yawn, "absolutely nobody. the press is still too thick to take the hints i give them." 

gwen smiled a little sadly at that, "maybe that's a good thing for now. perhaps when you secure your place as the king, things can be different for people like us." 

arthur nodded and smiled, "yeah, you guys could come back home." 

there was a somber atmosphere with that one sentence and arthur instantly regretted saying it. he also knew that neither of the two woman seated in front of him knew how to cheer up the situation, even gwen, so he just hesitated before deciding to being up his new friend.

"in other news, i've made a new friend recently. you'd like him." 

morgana and gwen both perked up at that, looking at eachother with looks that told arthur they were ready to assume and tease him unless he explained what he had meant by that.

"just a friend. he's nice though. university student, helps at food banks and i'm pretty sure he enjoys talking to a lot of people."

morgana smiled a bit, "he sounds sweet, what does he look like?" 

arthur snorted a bit, not surprised that morgana wanted to know what he looked like. she usually always asked that so she could see if the person in question matched up to arthur's taste at all. 

"well?" 

"i suppose he's.. not a sore sight for the eyes. he has these really marvellous cheekbones, you'd die for them, honestly. oh and big ears but they kind of suit his face if i'm being completely honest to you." arthur explained, shrugging slightly. he had finished but when he saw gwen smiling excitedly, he just decided to continue anyway, "he's quite pale, needs a bit of sun but he won't get that from anywhere in england, let's be honest. oh and his eyes are blue but not like mine. they're like a stormy blue, if that makes sense?" 

morgana squeaked out and arthur could tell that she was trying to hold a laugh back and had actually failed. arthur simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow whilst gwen nudged her in the side. arthur crossed his arms slightly and gave her a look as if to say 'explain.'

she sighed and leant back, "in just surprised you've made a friend, arthur. that's all."

"seriously? i am capable of friendship."

morgana snorted slightly, "just about, it's a wonder the boy hasn't ignored you for all the attention you could bring onto him." 

arthur tilted his head a bit. he actually hadn't really thought of that. he hadn't taken even a second to think of the idea that the tabloids could tear merlin to pieces with a few words. suddenly, he didn't even want to think about it anymore. not right now, not when he was having so much fun with his new friend and seeing his sister again.

"..he's alright with it." arthur lied through his teeth, speaking quickly to disguise the lie. he had never been very good at lying to morgana. 

morgana and gwen both raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at arthur with a slightly confused look on both their faces. they weren't sure whether to believe him or not at this point and they didn't want to upset him by suggesting he was lying about it.

"he.. is?" morgana asked, almost softly, "well that's a good friend." 

arthur nodded, "you'd like him for sure. elyan has met him, not properly though. always doing his job properly, right?"

gwen giggled softly at that and nodded, earning a warm smile from morgana as she looked at her with a fond sparkle in her eyes and a small smile playing on her lips. it was actually really cute. 

"so you said he's a university student?" gwen asked, leaning forwards in interest as arthur nodded, smiling away to herself, "so how old is he? my age?" she asked, almost excitedly. 

arthur had forgotten that gwen was younger than him and morgana. morgana was turning 24 this year and arthur was turning 21, he hadn't even asked merlin how old he was. he did know that gwen was 20 though.

"i.. haven't asked him. he's over 18 though, otherwise he wouldn't be at university." 

morgana chuckled softly, "i'd love to meet him, if that would be okay with him? i'm assuming it would be seeing as he doesn't mind all the tabloids."

arthur raised an eyebrow slightly, looking between the two girls with a confused look on his face. ultimately, he knew morgana would get annoyed at him if she figured out he had lied so he did the best thing he could. continue lying to save himself.

"of course, i'm sure he'd love that." he answered, very quickly. 

gwen raised an eyebrow very slightly, "he'd love that? arthur, are you sure he's your friend for good reasons?" she asked, in an almost concerned tone which had arthur left confused. merlin was so kind, there was no way he'd be friends with arthur for his own personal and selfish gain, that didn't seem like merlin.

but then again, he had only known merlin for about three days. 

arthur nodded slightly, "yeah, i swear." 

morgana raised an eyebrow very slightly once again before nodding and smiling at her brother with her usual large smile, the skin around her lips crinkling as she smiled, dimples on show.

"let's go see him now, shall we?" she asked, standing up as she began to brush herself down, smiling at gwen's soft giggle.

"now?" arthur asked, hesitant, "he's in school right now." 

"i'm sure his university wouldn't mind giving him five minutes out of class, arthur. not if you asked." gwen said, softly and almost quickly, whilst smiling at the brother of her girlfriend, standing up alongside morgana.

"exactly!" morgana exclaimed, smiling as she gently wrapped an arm around gwen's waist, looking at arthur expectantly, "come on, arthur, we haven't got all day." 

arthur hesitated before nodding and quickly getting up. sure, he was completely lying to morgana and had no idea how merlin would react at all, but he couldn't let morgana know he was lying because, once again, she would never let him live it down. so he just continued and prayed, to anything that would listen, that merlin wouldn't be freaked out. he hadn't been freaked out when he met arthur so surely he'd be fine with morgana and gwen.

surely he would, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading, it means a lot  
> if you left kudos or some comments it would be really appreciated  
> follow me on instagram for merlin edits  
> @ambrosius.mp4 :))


	5. dishonesty and surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> morgana, gwen and arthur all go to merlin’s uni to talk to him and merlin lies to lance. well, more like he delays the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a warning lol, this will be the last chapter with lowercase on everything as i’m switching over to writing with a laptop! thank you for reading’

merlin was currently sat in his lesson that he had with lance, leaning back with a frustrated look on his face. he really didn't want to have to explain the whole situation to him. but then again, lance was a loyal friend and merlin did trust him. he also didn't want him to feel as if he was being left out so he just sighed and decided he would tell him anyway. he'd have to no matter what, considering gwaine would blab it to him once he found out merlin hadn't explained and he'd much rather tell it himself instead.

so, as gaius smiled widely at him before turning to set up the powerpoint for the lesson, merlin tried to remember anything that was worthwhile telling, like the coat or the food bank. he just didn't want to have to recall it all and sound like a madman. 

he hadn't even noticed his classmates walking in and taking their seats, he was too focused on trying to pick out the most important details to tell lance. so focused that he hadn't even realised lance was sat right next to him.

"so, my friend," lance began, smiling with his usual friendly smile as he pulled his textbook out, "ready to tell me all about your new boyfriend then, hm?" 

merlin's eyes snapped open suddenly, jumping as he heard lance's voice, letting out deep breaths to calm himself down as a chuckle rippled from lance's chest, watching his friend calm down from having scared himself. merlin took note of the way that lance raised an eyebrow, as if to nudge him to explain.

"just a new friend i've met recently. he let me have his coat and came to help at the food bank, that's all, really." he explained, shrugging quickly as he pulled his textbook out of his bag, grabbing his favourite pen to use and a highlighter, "gwaine made it seem like a bigger deal than it is, as per usual. you know gwaine." 

"i also know you, merlin," he laughed, smiling at his friend, "you're acting like a madman. it's not like they're the prince of england or anything." he finished, chuckling softly.

merlin smiled awkwardly, "right, definitely not. that would be absolutely mental, right?" 

lance laughed and nodded quickly, "absolutely mental, mate."

merlin nodded somewhat awkwardly and then looked up as gaius clapped his hands together and began speaking, smiling at the students who were sat in the classroom, all with textbooks and laptops out, beginning to type out the titles and dates. merlin had forgotten his laptop at home, as per usual, so he opted for some paper. he decided he'd retype it all when he got home anyway.

lance looked at merlin with a raised eyebrow once again, taking note of the way that merlin scuffled with his things anxiously, realising that something was wrong. 

"merlin, my friend, you seem stressed out or something." he said, quickly, looking at merlin with a worried look on his face, clearly worried for merlin in case anything was horribly wrong.

—

arthur was currently getting ready for a drive to merlin's university because morgana and gwen still wanted to see him and uther was too busy to put a stop to it, he hadn't even realised morgana was back in their presence again.

he was completely and absolutely stressed. he and merlin had barely just become friends, with the food bank and all, and he didn't know whether merlin would actually be comfortable talking to morgana. a literal princess. merlin would probably end up fancying her even though she's with gwen and arthur would have to break it to him that she didn't like men. which would be awkward.

most men eventually ended up fancying morgana so he knew he'd end up breaking it to him soon enough. 

interrupting arthur from his thoughts, morgana and gwen walked in, the both of them holding hands with a wide, mirrored smile on both of their faces. arthur could tell they were excited to meet his new friend and that made his stomach churn slightly. he actually felt bad for lying.

"ready, arthur?" morgana asked, looking over at him as she wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's waist, still smiling at him, as per usual. 

arthur mumbled quietly and then nodded quickly, forcing his political smile into his face as he quickly scratched his arm awkwardly, speaking once he had finished being awkward, "of course. we best be leaving now to catch him." he said, quickly, grabbing a coat he had found in his wardrobe. 

"where's your normal coat, arthur?" gwen asked, looking at him with an almost quizzical look. but there was no depth behind it, gwen was just a curious and kind soul. that was all, really. 

arthur looked at the coat he had in his hands; it was an old one that he hadn't worn in a while. a sigh fizzled at the back of his throat and then he shrugged and looked up at the two. 

"normal coat isn't warm enough for a day like today." he lied, that coat was one of the warmest he had ever had. 

morgana chuckled softly and smiled, giving a look to the two of them as if to say 'let's go' and grabbed gwen's hand, still smiling. she had always been a big smiler. someone who was constantly happy even with the weight of a father who was irresponsible and had such old thoughts and opinions. 

the three then walked out and headed towards a black car, windows tinted darkly. gwen saw elyan, who was standing alongside percival, and gasped happily, giggling as she let go of morgana's hand and rushed towards him, throwing her arms around him with the happiest smile on her face that anybody would see, other than when with morgana.

arthur just watched with a strained lip, trying not to smile. he didn't really like smiling, as you could most likely tell by now. 

"right on!" gwen giggled, motioning for morgana and arthur to follow as she sat into the car, elyan sitting besides her as percival rolled his eyes playfully and climbed in. arthur and morgana just gave each other a look before climbing into the car too, not saying a word as the driver began to drive.

morgana peeked over at gwen, giving her 'a look' before turning to arthur, smiling innocently. which instantly meant she was going to do something. 

"i'm thinking, why don't you invite merlin back to the palace one day." she spoke, quickly. she'd never actually suggest that, she was just trying to catch arthur's bluff. any 'commoner' seen going into the palace with anyone from the monarchy would be torn apart to threads by the media. and from how arthur had described merlin, kind and caring, she didn't really fancy that happening to someone. especially not her brother's first proper friend in years.

arthur tried his best not to bluff at all, "not sure if he'd like it. much too proper for him, claims he's a simple commoner, all that." arthur explained, feigning a calm tone as he spoke, giving no indications that he was lying at all. he wouldn't let morgana have that win, nor would he let gwen. 

gwen nodded slightly and the nuzzled up to morgana whilst smiling at elyan, looking between two of the most important people in her life whilst arthur just looked out the window, seeing merlin's university approaching.

he swallowed down a gulp and rolled his sleeves of his old coat up, watching the building with an almost quizzical look. it was weird, really. arthur had seen merlin as a simply trivial friend yet he seems to be the complete opposite to morgana, even though she had never met him.

he really wasn't looking forwards to this, if he was being absolutely truthful. sure, merlin was a new and good friend of his but they weren't good enough friends for morgana, the literal princess of england, to show up at his university. especially alongside the prince of england and the girlfriend of the princess. arthur had been surprised that his very own presence didn't bother merlin so he had absolutely no idea how merlin would feel at the moment, seeing them walk in, regally as per usual.

once they got to the university, parking up safely, elyan and percival hopped out, standing in their usual way before allowing morgana, gwen and arthur to get out of the car. they already heard two screeches from some girls standing by a large pillar stand, looking over at the car and pair of royals standing in their university.

"right, let's move on then." percival said, quickly, wanting everyone to be safe as fast as possible. he carefully ushered the group, alongside elyan, towards the entrance of the school and then headed towards the office. 

the people in the office gasped at the sight of arthur and morgana and instantly began speaking to thank them of their service for england. morgana had to keep herself from snorting so she just smiled and nodded before continuing on with her mission to find and talk to, or as arthur would say, 'verbally abuse', merlin until he broke about not being okay with everything or something like that. which stressed him out majorly.

—

in merlin's defence, it had been a cold day and he had a two hour lecture starting in ten minutes so he couldn't help but call his mother and ask her to bring his, well, arthur's coat. he knew that she had an hour and a half between her jobs and would be able to bring it in. so she did and merlin was now wearing it whilst standing with lance and gwaine, waiting to go into the lecture that all three of them had.

"honestly, merlin." gwaine started, chuckling, "that coat looks so good. you're such a charity case it's hilarious, are those the jeans will gave you?" 

lance playfully punched gwaine's arm, rolling his eyes at the way he teased, "he looks nice in the jeans, idiot, and it doesn't matter who the coat came from."

gwaine snorted at that, knowing that lance had absolutely no idea that his coat literally came from the prince of england. it was actually really laughable when you thought about it. well, at least it was to gwaine, who found anything funny if it was misfortune for people.

the door to the lecture room then swung open and the three of them collectively groaned before walking in and taking their seats next to each other, as they usually did. it was how they got through the bland lectures of things they didn't even find interesting.

it must've been at least twenty minutes before a knock came at the door and the professor was being pulled to the side to be spoken to. merlin didn't even notice how frantic the person who had came to talk was, or how the professor had a glazed over look of shock on his face as he spoke in a hushed tone, gaze drifting over to merlin a few times as they shared the quiet and quick conversation, seemingly about merlin, apparently.

"merlin ambrosius," the professor called out, looking over at the runner who had come to bear the news and then back at him, "you're needed at the office."

merlin's eyebrows scrunched together in complete confusion as he nodded and quickly started shoving his things into his bag, looking between gwaine and lance with the same confused look on his face as he rushed through putting his things away, causing gwaine to snort. which, naturally, led to gwaine ruffling merlin's hair, leaving it a mess. 

merlin was so worried about having done something wrong that he didn't even fix it, he just waved to his two friends and rushed down to the runner, saying goodbye to the professor before beginning to walk to the office.

he was losing his mind with all of the possibilities as to why he could be there. maybe some of his grades were slipping meaning his scholarship would be completely gone. his mind went frantic with thoughts as he travelled towards the office.

he was so worried that, still, he hadn't noticed the way that his hair was fluffy and ruffled around his hair, looking slightly disheveled but in a somewhat endearing way. nor how his cheeks were slightly red and flushed from being so worried, or how his ears still protruded from his head, like usual. he didn't even care about his appearance at this point, he was just so worried that he'd lost his scholarship and wouldn't ever be able to support his mother. that had always been the worst possible thing that could ever happen to him when thinking about such horrible things. he didn't want it to happen now, not at all. 

when he got to the office, the woman who sat at the desk was smiling widely, almost anxiously, and quickly motioned for him to come over, "just head to room s1, it's three doors down, sweetheart. and be smart, okay?" she said, quickly.

merlin just tilted his head but nodded, gulping slightly. sure, he should've asked for more information but his brain was so frazzled at this point that he hadn't even thought of doing so, he just wanted to head to the room and see why he had been called out of his lecture. so he did exactly that and headed towards the door. once he got to the door, he knocked slightly awkwardly, not sure whether he should just walk in or not.

once he heard a soft voice call out a simple 'come in', he tugged at the handle. and, of course, it wasn't budging. so he continued to tug at the handle before it pushed forwards, making him stumble into the room, almost tripping up.

his eyes instantly widened as he almost tripped up, purely from embarrassment, and then he looked up, mouth open to apologise. but that was when his face paled, looking at arthur and his sister sitting there. not to mention his sister's girlfriend and the two bodyguards of arthur. he almost lost his mind at that. but he wasn't anxious because there was another royal, oh no. he was just embarrassed that he had stumbled and nearly tripped into the room whilst wearing arthur's coat. 

another voice spoke first, "isn't that your coat, arthur?" elyan asked, sharing a grin with his sister, even though merlin was unaware of the fact that they were related. all merlin did was attempt to cover the coat slightly with his arms, feeling kind of awkward.

"precious thing," morgana spoke endearingly, smiling at merlin with a soft look, "it's nice to meet you, merlin. i'm morgana, i've heard plenty about you." she said, standing up whilst holding her hand out to shake merlin's.

he was slightly gobsmacked, seeing as he really was inspired by morgana and the way she went against media and the tabloids to be with the woman she loved. all he could do was smile and quickly shake her hand, looking sheepish as he did so. 

he could see arthur smirking behind morgana and huffed a little, deciding to go back to his usual manner of being annoying, "am i so loveable that you need to pull me out of my lectures, arthur?" he asked, not expecting a reaction from anybody.

but morgana rippled out a laugh at his words, as well as gwen, which made him smile. he had just made two people laugh which was his favourite thing to do.

"wasn't for you, merlin. just wanted to make sure you were looking after my coat." arthur teased back, causing morgana to roll her eyes playfully.

"so that's where arthur's new coat went. it's nice though," she grinned, speaking in a hushed tone for the second part of her sentence, "suits you more."

merlin stuttered for a few seconds before regaining his calm, "..thank you- uh- your coat suits you too." he said, sheepishly, still smiling. "and, not to be rude, but uh- what's this all about?" 

as arthur went to speak, morgana interrupted him, grinning, "oh just sibling jokes, you see. i tend to annoy arthur as much as possible and when i heard about his new friend who didn't care about the media or tabloids, i was dying to meet you, the way he described you even sounded quite cute, he wasn't wrong either."

merlin smiled awkwardly, heat rushing to his cheeks. he didn't see how arthur rolled his eyes at the way merlin reacted. nor did he realise that arthur assumed this was merlin flirting with morgana.

"you do realise she's gay, merlin?" arthur asked, in a dull tone. he was quite blunt about it but morgana didn't care. 

merlin was a little taken aback but just rolled his eyes playfully and laughed, "i know, gay people tend to know who else is gay. hence why i know." 

that resulted in a reaction from arthur. his eyes widened slightly as he looked at merlin, shock encasing each of his facial features as merlin continued to speak. he never would've guessed that merlin liked men. and he didn't even know why, but that thought excited him slightly. 

"ever since you left to be with gwen, you two are adorable by the way, i've been inspired by you. i'm just really lucky to have a supportive mum." merlin explained, smiling between morgana and gwen.

morgana chuckled softly, making note of the way that arthur reacted so she could tease him about it later at some point, "that's so sweet. i bet your mum is really proud of you."

"yeah she is," merlin began, smiling at morgana, "she's happy i got this scholarship too. and the food bank, although i'm rather proud of arthur for that."

gwen turned to arthur, a raised eyebrow.

"food bank?" 

arthur shrugged, "merlin wanted me to."

and even though there was no weight to his words whatsoever, morgana smiled. arthur wasn't usually one who would conform to what others wanted. to what they wanted him to do. but he had agreed to do something for his new friend and that meant something for arthur.

morgana picked up on that, obviously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there we go, that’s the fifth chapter all done. i hope you enjoyed it and that it was good.  
> if you like bbc merlin edits, follow me on instagram @ambrosius.mp4

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading the first chapter  
> that was kinda fun to write  
> follow me on instagram for merlin edits?  
> @ambrosius.mp4  
> also please leave kudos and comments if you’d like, it’s greatly appreciated :))


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